Good morning Arsene, starting with the team news are there likely to be any chan
ges from Saturday’s fixture?
ges from Saturday’s fixture?
Sanchez will be back in the group, and we don’t have any injuries from Saturday, everybody looked fine yesterday.
How much of a boost is it to have Alexis back In the squad?
Look, he’s our best goal scorer and one of our hardest working players in the team, and physically I think we suffered a little bit in some areas on Saturday, it’s good to have him back.
And will Jack Wilshere be back in full training this week?
Yes, he’s back in full training this week.
Leicester gave arsenal a tough game in august, what are you expecting tomorrow?
Look, like a team who plays in the premier league, and fights to survive in the premier league, and that demands a complete focus from us, and respond as well very strongly to our defeat on Saturday.
What kind of reaction do you want to see from your player’s tomorrow night?
Well, just focus again on our game, and we had a very strong run just before Saturday, just have to continue that, and respond very strongly to the disappointment.
What do you make of what’s happening at Leicester? There’s been a lot of news that Nigel Pearson may be leaving, and then it looks like he’s staying?
I don’t know more than you, and I don’t know what to think about that, because I’m not well informed.
Do you think it’s the right decision for Leicester to stick with their manager, I mean normally, you would like to see?
I think yes.
Do you think Leicester can stay up this season?
Of course, I think if you look at the table, nobody is definitely out of the fight, so the teams who are down there, and fight to survive can stay up.
Some of the criticism that has come your way since the game on Saturday, do you think it’s justified, or do you think some of it is over the top, I mean it seems like every time you lose there seems to be a massive negative reaction against the club?
Look I will have to deal with our performances, and the criticism is always there when you lose a game now.
Do you think people sometimes lose a sense of perspective, if you win tomorrow night, you could be third, just four points behind Chelsea?
Look, we have to focus on our performances, we are responsible for what we produce on the pitch and we have to continue to move forward, and deal with all the rest, the rest has not to influence us, what is important for us is our ambition, and the way we want to play has to be the strongest influence.
Does the criticism hurt you at all personally?
No I don’t take it personally, what I take personally is to lose a game.
Arsenal has never finished outside the top four since you've been here. Is there any possibility of that happening this season?
Every year, it was never granted. Every year we were in the fight until the last game basically, and every year we have managed to do it. We have a good opportunity to show that we have the strength to deal with that pressure, and that we have the quality, and I'm completely convinced that we have the quality.
A lot of arsenal fans go in on Monday morning with the nightmare of losing to spurs. Do you understand how much it means to them?
Look, are there any other questions for tomorrow’s game? We are at a press conference for Leicester tomorrow, and I've answered already that. I don’t think there is need to dwell too much on it and it’s important to focus on the next game.
How long will Debuchy or Jack Wilshere be available?
I don’t know exactly, we have to monitor them on a daily basis and see how he develops.
Per Mertesacker said that the team had a clear air meeting following the defeat against Southampton on new year’s day, and you responded very well with 5 wins in a row, was there a similar kind of meeting after the Tottenham game?
No, because the attitude was there, and we just want to focus on our next game to get a bit about what happened on Saturday.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is he back?
No unfortunately he’s not back, I think he’s at least two more weeks.
Kieran Gibbs is fit?
He’s fit yes.
How do you balance the defensive line up, because obviously you've got Bellerin who maybe is more attack minded. Is that maybe why you looking to straighten things in the full back?
Yes, I believe that recently we were very strong defensively, and we concede two goals from headers on Saturday, but overall defensively, we were solid.
You mentioned on Saturday that you were missing some technical quality in the midfield…
No, I said we made too many technical mistakes.
What can you make to rectify that?
Look, I believe we wanted to protect our advantage and that’s why maybe we were not going forward enough for long periods in the game, but overall, I believe we have the technical quality that is requested.
Is there a danger that you might go the the other way against Leicester, because you said you were trying to protect something?
No, football is about balance between defence and attack, and if you want to progress until the end of the season, you have to know that you remain tight defensively.
How do you see that balance now between Welbeck, Walcott, Cazorla and Ozil?
Look you've watched the games, you see they used to defend and attack and you see only of those who only defends and of those who only attacks, so overall it’s important that all our players who are on the pitch contribute when you lose the ball, and contribute when you have the ball, and you have good eyes, and you see as well those who do it, and those who don’t do it.
Do you have to maybe talk to the players like say “don’t forget as well as going forward, you have to work a bit at the back”
We do those.
Does this game bring back happy memories about playing Leicester at home, it was the last game of the invincible?
I think what we focus on is the team, how can you put your team in a position to respond quickly, and get down with your job, because we have a very important period in front of us with the Champions league, the premiership and the FA cup, so it is important that the team responds very well and very quickly. It’s not about memories, it’s about how we play tomorrow
Leicester aren't doing very well, but they defeated Man United, they won at Tottenham a couple of weeks ago, do you think they should be in a higher position than what they are?
Yes, but all the teams who are at the back can say that you know, we have hull who is struggling, they just played 1-1 at Man City, it’s about performance on the day, and because the premier league is tight, and the difference between the teams is very small and it’s just about how you turn up on the day.
Is it because the teams with not so much money, financial power don’t fear the bigger teams by march, or do you just feel it’s because the quality is not so much better now in the squads in the premier league?
The quality in the squads is much better because England is dominant on the market, and even the teams who are down in the premier league can buy everywhere in Europe good players.
You've got the fa cup, you've got the champions league. Is this when you will be expected to perform?
We are of course going into a period when we will be playing many games, and all our squad will be highly important, and that every player is focused and determined and ambitious as well.
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